Class Concepts
Links *Home page *Media Examples *Class Concepts *Class Information 'Concepts' Automaticity : Definition: The automatic processing of information used to navigate effeciently through our information-saturted culture. : The Traps: #'Fatigue'- being trapped in patters of exposure we may disregard information that may be helpful to us. #'False feeling of being informed' #'False feeling of control' #'Faulty beliefs' : : (example) We tune out a great deal of media because of message saturation (i.e., too much information at once). Because of this, we subconsciously/automatically select what to observe. This filter protects us from being overwhelmed. However, it also traps us into patterns of exposure, creates a false sense of being informed, creates a false sense of being in control of our media, and can allow us to fall out of touch with reality. : Media Literacy : Consists of 4 concepts: # Cognitive '''-factual (what is it that you are doing to your information processing?) # '''Emotional -feeling # Aesthetic -production (are you aware of the camera work and effects etc...?) # Moral -values :: To be media literate, we must take control of our media use. Get out of automatic mode and make active/consicious decisions. This is learned, not innate. :: We must understand dimensions of media messages and be aware of them in media content. Media Literacy is measured on a continuum ranging from low to high. :: A direct definition of Media Literacy: a set of perspectives actively used when exposed to media messages to interpret meanings from those messages. : : Literacy Model: 4 Major Factors for Media Literacy (from the book) #'Knowledge structures': sets of organized info that comes from learned knowledge and answers not only "what," but also "how" and "why". Having more complex knowledge structures creates a better context for new information and helps us see the "big picture." Things will mean more with previous knowledge. #'Personal locus': this deals with how goals and drives affect how info is processed. Goals control what attention is on and what is being processed as opposed to being ignored. Drives are the motivation to invest effort. Awareness is key!! be aware of your goals/drives. Being unaware leads to automaticity. #'Information Processing Compatencies/Skills': Compatencies, such as reading, are learned, mostly early in life and one either has it or doesn't. Having it does not automatically mean media literacy, but one cannot be media literate without them. Skills(most important) are acquired throughout life and takes work and practice to mature. Skills are measured on a continuum; there is always room for improvement. This would be useful in analysis and interpretation of things. #'Information Processing Tasks': A way of knowing what to ignore and pay attention to, filtering. One not only needs to recognize elements in messages (Meaning Matching), but also be able to construct their own meaning (Meaning Construction). The level of media construction will influence/determine ML. : The Seven Skills of Media Literacy (book - p. 16) **major theme in book only; not discussed in class. #Analysis- breaking down a message into meaningful elements #Evaluation- judging the value of an element; the judgement is made by comparing a message element to some standard #Grouping- determining which elements are alike in some way; determining how a group of elements is different from other groups of elements. #Induction- inferring a pattern across a small set of elements, then generalizing the pattern to all elements in the set #Deduction- using general principles to explain particulars #Synthesis- assembling elements into a new structure #Abstracting- creating a brief, clear, and accurate description capturing the essence of a message in a smaller number of words than the message itself Media Literacy is Multidimensional: Each of the four dimensions by which we acquire information (Cognitive, Emotional, Aesthetic, and Moral) focuses on a different domain of understanding. A Media Literate individual has a perspective that includes information from all four of these domains. These are all measured on a continuum scale rather than a categorical area. There is always room for improvement among the scale of Media Literacy in these areas. : Typology of Media Literacy (key positions of the contimuum of Media Literacy) #Acquiring Fundamentals-'' recognizing facial expressions, learning that there are other beings apart from oneself, recognizing shapes, form, size, colors, movements and spatial relations, and having a concept of time.'' #Language Acquisition- recognize and reproduce speech sounds, make emotional and behavior responses to music and sounds, and recognize certain characters in visual media and follow their movement. #Narrative Acquisition- understanding the difference between real and make-believe, ads vs entertainment, and fiction vs non-fiction, and understanding how to connect plot elements. #Developing Skepticism-'' sharpen differences between likes and dislikes for shows, characters, and actions, and make fun of certain characters even though those characters are not presented as foils.'' #Intensive Development- strong motivation to seek out information on certain topics, and developing a detailed set of information on certain topics (sports or politics). #Experiential Exploring- seeking out different form of conent and narratives, and focus on searching for surprises and new emotional, moral, and aesthetic reactions. #Critical Appreciation-'' accepting messages on their own terms and then evaluating them within that sphere, make subtle comparisons and contrast among many different message elements simultaneously, and construct a summary of judgement about the overall strengths and weaknesses of a message.'' #Social Responsibility-'' taking a moral stand that certain messages are more consrtuctive for society than others, recognizing that one's own individual decisions affect society, and reconizing that individuals can make a strong impact on society with certain actions.'' : Influencing Factors in Media Literacy #'Maturation'- cognitive, emotional, moral #'*Natural Abilities- '''born with them but they need exercise #'Experience'''- variety over quantity #'Active application of Skills- '''on cognitive and emotional levels '*Natural Abilities (from above)- you are born with these but they need to be exercised''' *feild independency: can you see through the clutter to identify what is important? *crystaline intelligence: can you memorize facts and be a systematic thinker? *fluid intelligence: are you a creative thinker? (not a raw intelligence but a way of thinking) *conceptual differentiation: how do you classify things, and do you have many or few categories? *emotional intelligence: do you understand the triggers of your emotions and can you be critical of what you feel? *tolerence for ambiguity: are you intrigued by difference or do you avoid that which does not line up with your beliefs? *nonimpulsiveness: are you quick to judge? : Why develop a high level of media literacy? #To gain a wider appitite for a variety of messages #To gain knowledge of how to program your own mental code #Provides people with more control over the media : Mass media is made of businesses whose interest is in creating returning customers (or viewers of ads). They want to constrain your choices and then reinforce the experience to keep you coming back. Media literacy allows you to gain control and use the media for you own needs and not the needs of some business. Media Literacy is about programming your own mental code, so that the media's codes are not as effective on you and what information you consume. Media Industries : The Life Cycle of Media #'Innovation'- Technological in nature (the iPod or iPad) or Marketing related (new needs of a population). Innovation begins when a new cahnnel of transmission is possible, and an entrepreneur recognizes a need in a population and uses the new technology to satisfy that need. People begin recognizing the value of a new medium. #'Penetration'- The public's growing acceptance of a new media medium. A medium can be successfull in the penetration stage by creating a new need or increasing an existing need. #'Peak'- Commands the most attention, generates the most revenue, has reached maximum pentration. The "Glory Days" of a medium. Example: Where the TV is right now #'Decline'-Loss of audience and revenue, often due to a new medium penetration. #'Adaptation'-reposistioning in order to survive usually by identifying a new set of needs. Ex: Radio: lost audience in 1950 to TV-->adapted (shift to music, specific audiences, portablility)-->lost audience again in 1990 to MTV-->adapted (online radio, interactive, satilite radio) Media Ownership : Two Competing Values #Localism #Effeciency :: Localism *Favors the individual *Values the individual over big businesses. *All power should be in the hands of "the people." Democratic idea of decentralized power. *'Lost ground to effeciency with the 1996 Telecommunications Act': 1.) companies can control up to 45% of TV 2.) cross ownership of media in one market possible *Government media policy favors localism--didnt want large media markets controlling local media *1996 Telecom Act resulted in mass mergers ($300 billion) *control of important insitiutions should be spread out as much as possible so many poeple share the power : Effeciency *free-market *Capitalism and Competition are the main ideas *unlimited growth *nowadays 5 companies control 80% of the market *companies sell off divisions to streamline management *few huge companies, less diversity in voices, less access for people to influence content *concentration, consolidation, and centeralization : Types of Ownership #'Horizontal'- Media Companies buying another company of the same kind of media (newspaper chain) #'Vertical'- Media comapny owns more than one kind of media. Buys suppliers and distributers for output (Time Warner) #'Conglomerate'- A media company buys a non-media company or vice-versa (General Electric) : The Debate : Localist viewpoint: *Effeciency creates less diversity *For profit, not public-service *Conglomeration means more mainstream conent *More channels + fewer players = More centralized power *politcally conservative *Free flow of information is important and unlikely with efficient schema : Effecincy viewpoint *Conglomeration promotes diversity *Open markets are a progressive market place of ideas and the promotion of democracy *No direct evience that big media businesses dampen diversity *improves quality of content *If the free flow of information is necessary, so should be the free flow of money and business interactions; if localist value says freedom in one area, it should be consistant and look for freedom throughout. : What about the internet? *Top 100 sites account for half of all visits *Few companies control access *The buying of popularity in search engines www.cjr.org ** Audience : Three Tasks of information Processing (p. 34) *'Filtering Messages--paying attention to a small percentage of what we encounter' **Task: to make decisions about which messages to filter out and which to pay attention to **Goal: to attend to only those messages that have some kind of usefulness for the person and ignore all other messages **Focus: messages in the environment *'Meaning Matching--recognizing elements in the message and accessing our memor to find meanings we have memorized for those elements' **Task: To use basic competencies to recognize referents and locate previously learned definitions for each **Goal: To access previously learned meaning effeciently **Focus: Referents in messages *'Meaning Construction--take filtered message and create meaning for ourselves' **Task: To use skills in order to move beyond meaning matching and to construct meaning for one's self in order to personalize and get more out of a message **Goal: To interpret messages from more than one perspective as a means of identifying the range of meaning options, then choose one or synthesize across several **Focus: One's own knowledge structures : The Idea of a "Mass" Audience *a myth *people worried about the strong effect media had on "the masses" : Characterized in four ways #Homogenious #Anonymous #No interaction #Leaderless blob : Audience Segmentation : Audiences across the nation are/ have been segmented in a number of ways. #Geographic - sub cultures by regions BUT 20% move per year #Demographic- gender, ethnicity, age, income, education BUT not as valuable anymore #Social Class- wold view differences Lower Class: survial mode--have fun with money when its available Middle Class: long term view--saving and non sporatic spending Upper Class: control of money and people 4. Geodemographic - income and neighborhoods; PRIZM segmentation 5. Psychographic - demographics and lifestyles ex: Baby Boomers and Generation X : Changing Audience *Convergence is creating a more complex media world *Ongoing technological innovation -users are becoming producers *Personalized and Interactive vs. Communal and Passive *There is a gap in perceived use vs. actual use *Screen based media dominates Exposures (3 types) *physical exposure- actual proximity to a media message in physical time and space *perceptual exposure- ability of a person to recieve appropriate sensory input through visual and auditory senses. Stimuli outside of the boundaries of human perception are called subliminal; they leave no physical trace. *psychological exposure- trace elements created in a person's mind. Image, sound, emotion, pattern, and so on. *attention- when all three forms of exposure are present and there is conscious awareness of media States *attentional state -''' Being Aware of the message and actively interacting with the elements in the message.' *automatic state- exposed but unaware *transported state - Entering the world of the message and being swept away. Not being seperated from the media. *self reflexive state - fullest degree of awareness. Being aware of the media message, your own social world, and your positiion in the social world. Asking yourself questions about the media you are watching. '''Characteristics of The Game of Economics (Chapter 7)' 1. Importance of Valuing Resources Well: to value a resource well, make an assessment about how well a resource will achieve a particular goal, and consider supply and demand. 2. Indirect as Well as Direct Support: consumers pay directly for certain media but also pay indirectly by buying products of all kinds without knowing that they are supporting media industries. 3. Complex Interdependency Among Players: when one large player makes a decision, it affects other players as well. The situation is highly dynamic and interrelated. Decision makers are often conflicted because they are experiencing cross-purposes, and media vehicles compete in different markets. 4. Nature of Competition: some companies and people get stronger at the game and achieve near-monopolistic status. 5. Advertising as the Engine: As advertising becomes a stronger economic force, the cost of doing business increases. Over time, the standard of living has increased and made advertising so important because people have become more willing and able to spend money. Economic Perspective (Chapter 7) : Econimics is considered a game, with players who trade resources to get other resources they want more. The only rule of this "game" is that in order to play one must have resources and the willingness to exchange the resources for others. There are four types of "players," and all have the same goal: maximize the value of exchange for self. The four types of players in the game of economics are: : 1. Consumers: resources brought to the game are time and money. we exchange our resources for entertainment and information. : 2. Advertisers: bring money to the game in exchange for time and space in media to present ads to target audiences. : 3. Media Companies: bring money, messages, and audiences to the game and compete in all other three markets simultaneuosly. The talent market to get the best producers of media at the lowest cost. The Audience Market, presenting messages from advertisers to many audiences through many mediums. And the advertising market, using acquired audiences to obtain advertising business. : 4. Media Employees: bring talent and time to the game, increasing income and benefits with each hour worked. Some talent jobs are considered above the line (require talent and training) and some are considered below the line (jobs that can be filled by anyone.) Media Industry Strategies (Chapter 7) 1. Maximizing Profits: increasing revenue streams and minimizing expenses. 2. Constructing Audiences: attracting people to niches and conditioning audiences to maintain 3. Reducing Risk Consumer Stategies (Chapter 7) 1. Default Strategy: a goal of maintaining a minimal level of uninterrupted satisfaction 2. Media Literacy Strategy: a goal to understand the economic game and how to be a better player : Category:NEW MATERIAL